Batman Beyond-Heart of Winter
by Demon of Shadows
Summary: Terry is starting to wonder whether being Batman is worth it, and when a hero calling himself Blizzard shows up, Terry wonders if he can retire. R+R!


This night, out of all nights in Batman's long career, hadn't exactly been a five-star evening. Terry McGinnis reflected on the events that had happened that day ever since he had gone to dinner with Dana Tan. First, he had had to cancel on Dana for the third time this week for dinner because, as Mr. Wayne always told him, "Duty Calls." Terry had grown to hate those words, it always meant going out, alone, to fight a battle one Bat can't win. Then, he had foiled four bank robberies, which all seemed to include him getting hit by an extremely powerful Laser Cannon. After that he had stopped fifteen muggings and had to deal with Mad Stan, who, like always, was trying to blow up a government building. THAT had left some bruises, which still caused Terry to rub his left arm, where Mad Stan had hit him as soon as he had taken his large dose of steroids. Then he had had to deal with Willy Watt, who, like always, tried to get back at the jocks that had beaten him up back when he was weak. Then, to top it off, he had had to put another chapter of the Brain Trust Organization in prison, doing all of these activities in the space of two hours. Then, he had to do a mega-load of homework when he got home, which kept him up until three in the morning, giving him less than four hours of sleep. He then, for the lack of sleep, slept through his classes again, got caught half of the time, then after school, he had to babysit his little brother, Matt, the twip. Then, at six, he went to a make-up dinner with Dana, which was actually Bruce's idea. They were just sitting down to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant when Terry's cell phone rang. "Hang on a sec Dana." Terry said, unfolding his cell phone, while Dana frowned deeply. Before hitting receive, Terry wondered, who the hell is making trouble THIS time? "Terry? Its Bruce." Bruce's voice floated out of the earpiece. "Now? Isn't there a time you need me that is actually convenient?" Terry lamented softly. "Actually, things look quiet tonight. I'm giving you the night off. Oh, and your mom wants you to pick up some milk on your way home." Bruce said. "Oh, sure thing. Bye." Terry said, breaking the connection. "Mr. Wayne needs you again?" Dana said disappointedly. "Nope, just gave me the night off and relayed a message from my mom." Terry said, obviously relieved. "Oh, well, that's good." Dana said, smiling, as they settled down to a good meal.  
  
The glow of computer screens gave the fair-sized living room an eerie glow, making it seem haunted. The room was one of many in the high-rise apartment district of Gotham City. The apartment had desolate gray walls, but had a good amount of space. Before the bank of computer screens sat a young, average-looking boy. He was dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt with no sleeves. "File Download Completed." The computer voice intoned these words, as the boy was finishing up a box of pizza delivered a little while ago. "Good. Let's see what the Bat has to his name since he emerged again" The kid muttered, typing in a string of commands. A 500-page report came up on the screen and the kid whistled softly. "Well, we'll see about that." The kid said as he stood up. He went over to a small closet and inputted his code into the keypad. The door hissed open and an interior light shone on a costume that was similar to that of Armory's, but was completely black and had no visible weapons. "Suit on-line, authorization code: Dinner is served with a silver spoon." The boy said. "Roger, Bryce Richards." The computer intoned as the front of the suit unfolded and Bryce stepped inside. The suit hummed as it shut and sealed itself and the large suit strode out onto the balcony. "Computer, activate security systems, level 5." Bryce's disguised voice floated out of the suit. The click of several locks met his ears as a powerful jet activated in the sole of each boot and jetted into the sky. He flew using back alleys and back streets to get to a warehouse a couple blocks away. Outside Bryce placed one massive hand of his suit flat against a scanner pad, which flashed green. With the other hand Bryce tapped in a seemingly random set of numbers on a keypad, which also flashed green. A retinal scanner slid forward as the faceplate of the suit flipped open. After a few seconds it withdrew and the faceplate shut. "Scan complete, Access Granted." A tinny robotic voice intoned from somewhere on the wall as a concealed door slid open. Inside was what resembled the Batmobile, but sleeker and a shining white. Bryce approached the vehicle when the security system snapped on, a small but powerful laser cannon turret extended from the tail of the craft, pointing straight at Bryce. "I am Blizzard, Password: Heart of winter." Bryce said. "Welcome Blizzard." The computer replied as the cannon retracted into its port and the top hatch slid open. "Whatever." Blizzard said as he sat inside and the hatch shut. He punched a couple buttons and a much larger door in the wall opened. "Iceblade, prepare to depart." Blizzard said, Iceblade was the name he had given this vehicle. "Affirmative Blizzard." The computer said as the hover-engines engaged, Iceblade now hovering a foot above the wall. With careful bursts of his main jets, he maneuvered Iceblade onto the street. Then he punched the button to activate the main engines. With a throaty roar a gout of flame appeared in the back and Blizzard pulled back on both joysticks. Iceblade shot forward and corkscrewed into the sky, flying high above all the buildings.  
  
(What is Blizzards hidden agenda, and what does he have in store for Batman?) 


End file.
